Lethbridge becoming magnet for Bhutan refugees

By the end of the year 5,000 refugees from the small South Asian country of Bhutan will call Canada home, with hundreds of them settling in Lethbridge.

Dan Bahdur Gurung, a refugee from Bhutan, is one of hundreds from that country making Lethbridge home. (CBC)

Dan Bahdur Gurung, his wife and two children landed in Canada seven months ago.

So far his daughter is the only one who understands English. The rest of the family is struggling to adjust.

Nearly 20 years ago the Gurungs were among 100,000 people forced from Bhutan into refugee camps in neighbouring Nepal.

Now those people are slowly being resettled around the world. Canada is one of seven countries that agreed to take refugees from the camps.

“It’s probably becoming one of the larger ethnic communities in Lethbridge,” said Sarah Amies, who works with Lethbridge Immigrant Services.

Over the last three years the agency has welcomed more than 500 Bhutanese refugees to the city.

For most of them, integration is a challenge. But it helps to be in a smaller centre, Amies said.

Refugee assistance may suffer in cuts

Staffing at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada office in Charlottetown is going to be cut from three workers to one, CBC News has learned.

Service was slow at the Charlottetown office even with three staff, says Madan Kumar Giri. (CBC)

The provincial manager's position and a settlement officer's position working with refugees have been eliminated as of June 1, say department officials.

CIC provides services for refugees in their first year, and more than 60 new refugees are expected to arrive on the Island in 2012. Currently, refugees looking for services must call a 1-800 number for an appointment. Walk-ins have not been allowed at the office in years.

Interpreter Madan Kumar Giri helps people in the Bhutanese community. He said getting his last clients' appointment took two weeks.

"Even when there were three people," said Giri.

"But when there will be only one, especially the refugee immigrants will suffer a lot to make a different appointment and to solve the problem."

It's not clear whether appointments will even be permitted after the cuts.

An email from CIC said "some of those smaller locations will be responsible for liaising with the provinces and stakeholders but will not be open to the public."

Dan Doran, a past president of the board of directors of the P.E.I. Association for Newcomers, has direct experience with refugees. He works with a refugee sponsorship committee with the Diocese of Charlottetown and was the CIC supervisor at the Charlottetown office until 2005.

"You can't replace a direct face in a face-to-face meeting," said Doran.

"Sure you can do things from a distance, but I certainly think that there's going to be something lost in the ability to provide the most effective service."

Citizenship is closing more than a dozen regional offices, including offices in Moncton, Saint John and one of two offices in Halifax. Several hundred lay-off notices have been delivered across the country.

Source:CBC NEWS